How Does the Gospel Shape Us?
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WHO WE ARE: Jesus came as a servant, laying down his life for us so that we, who as his slaves now belong to him, could lay down our lives for others. » Jesus came to set us free and the only way we walk in freedom is by living out our identity as servants of Christ » When we live as servants of Jesus Christ, we no longer need to approval of men and we no longer get stuck in cycles of selfishness and self-protection HOW WE LIVE: One of the ways Jesus displays the grace and truth of the gospel is through the good works of His people » We must learn to do good works with gospel motivation and for gospel demonstration » We do goods works BECAUSE we have been saved (redeemed, justified, adopted, etc…), not so that we might be – it comes out of our heart of gratitude and thanksgiving, not in order to earn anything » We must learn to do good works in such a way that the gospel is on display – this requires knowing the gospel well and contextualizing it in actions THE CHURCH IS A COMMUNITY OF LEARNERS – called to equip and be equipped (Ephesians 4:11-16) God has called and gifted people in the church to not only use their gifts for works of service and ministry, but to equip others for works of service. The Body of Christ (SOMA) will be built up as each person serves and equips others to serve. The Church doesn’t need more programs to do the work that people are called to do – the Church needs people to be faithful to their calling to develop and equip others. This responsibility needs to be placed back into the hands of the people who ARE the Church. We don’t go to Church.
We are the Church Soma’s Learner Identity Statement: Learners – We are Students of Jesus who take responsibility for our own development and
the development of others. As a young man Jesus grew in both height and wisdom. He learned from local religious teachers, by living in community, and through regular times of listening to God. Jesus called others to follow his ways, to be his disciples and live in obedience to all that God commands. He then sent these followers out to make new disciples. We believe we are also called to be followers of Jesus who take responsibility for our own development and the development of others. This includes both our personal time with God as well as involvement together in training provided by spiritual leadership. (Luke 2:52; Matthew 28:18-20; Ephesians 4:11-13; 2 Timothy 2:2) WHO WE ARE: WE ARE DISCIPLES OF THE RABBI JESUS Jesus came as one who learned and he called us to humbly learn from Him through His Word, His Spirit and His Body, the Church » As God’s people, we look to Jesus as the one who teaches us about God, ourselves, the world and our purpose » We now take responsibility to be equipped through the resources Jesus has given us » We also take responsibility to lead others in learning and being equipped for ministry HOW WE LIVE: The Body of Christ is built up into maturity and therefore effectively displaying the Gospel only when each part is growing up, doing its part and equipping others. » We belong to a learning community that we engage in for the purpose of being equipped and equipping others » We must continue to work out of our calling to equip for works of ministry and make sure that our teaching and training leads out into mission not toward greater dependency on us » We are all being trained to be sent to be a display and declaration of the gospel
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